5G: more efficiency and new experiences for the entertainment business

On this platform, José Otero, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean of 5G Americas, addresses at a time of 5G consolidation the possibilities of this mobile technology for the entertainment field, including extended reality experiences, massive interactions, private networks or sensorization to multiply the possibilities of a broadcast.

With more than 2 billion subscribers worldwide —according to recent Omdia figures provided to 5G Americas—5G technology is the fastest-adopting mobile technology in history. How will its advancement affect the entertainment industry?

The main trends point towards new immersive experiences, facing the audiences, and more efficiency for productions. Of course, technical advances could give way to applications and uses not yet imagined. To get an idea of ​​this impact, it is worth starting by trying to understand a little more about this ecosystem of mobile technologies and how new features, tools and services emerge, are discarded and imposed.

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Understanding 5G

What are we talking about when we refer to 5G? Generally, we call 5G still set of technologies to differentiate it from other previous ones, which make up a new type of capabilities, to put it simply.

To better analyze the potential of 5G for audiovisual and entertainment industry, it is convenient to keep in mind that a generation of mobile technologies and their associated uses and services is an ecosystem, supported by several components. On the one hand, there is the network technology (on the infrastructure side) and its technical capabilities; on the other, the devices (in the different forms that these may take) that must be capable of connecting to the network, and can equip other components that can also use it. They are also part of the current and future services and applications, which are based on the capabilities of the network on the one hand, and the devices on the other. And finally, we can also consider the “appropriation” of use that users can do, that can influence, redefine and guide the other components.

To the IP world that landed in mobile networks with 4G, 5G added not only innovation, but above all improved performance, efficiencies, flexibility and new capabilities.

Considering these four elements, and adding the factors of technical capacity, economic viability and user acceptance or demand, you can have a more complete vision of the possible new uses or advantages of 5G

To exemplify the above, for example, a telephone could be equipped with a 4K UHD camera, but it would not make much sense if the network technology of the equipment, or the available network, is UMTS with and downlink 384 Kbps. In the same way, a new service – such as video calling at the time – may seem very innovative or attractive, but there is a possibility that users will find it difficult to assimilate it culturally. Or, it may not be successful due to its cost structure.

Having clarified this, So what can 5G offer to the audiovisual industry?

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Basic technologies

We are not going to stop at specific architectures, topologies, techniques and components, which exceed the scope of this article. But we are going to establish that 5G was developed for a wide range of use cases, which are generally grouped into three large segments: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB, enhanced Mobile BroadBand), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC, Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication) y Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC, massive Machine Type Communication). The first group contains all the applications that require high data transmission capabilities, while in the second those services that require high availability and reliability (such as emergency ones) and in the last, the applications of Internet of Things at an enormously massive level.

Other advances that come from the hand of 5G, and will most likely revolutionize the audiovisual industry, will be the private networks, edge computing (Edge Computing), la Extended Reality (XR), and the possibility of incorporating other technologies such as Artificial intelligence

Greatly simplifying the historical perspective, we could say that the 3G introduced the Internet in cellular communications; 4G brought broadband, full IP communication, and allowed better use of new devices, and 5G It focused on specializing and making more efficient the different possible use cases that were envisioned. To the IP world that landed in mobile networks with 4G, 5G added not only innovation, but above all improved performance, efficiencies, flexibility and new capabilities.

Other advances that come with 5G, and will most likely revolutionize the audiovisual industry, will be the private networks, edge computing (Edge Computing), la Extended Reality (XR), and the possibility of incorporating other technologies such as Artificial intelligence.

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Benefits for the audiovisual and entertainment industry

We then have that technological advancement of mobile telecommunications has been impacting, and will continue to do so, the audiovisual industry in many aspects. It has already multiplied the screens; has transformed the way audiences consume socially content, and has influenced how these are structured and created. 5G will likely deepen these changes, with more powerful devices, and networks capable of connecting and providing more powerful services to a greater number of devices. But it will also introduce changes from the side of content production.

5G will bring the possibility of multiply exponentially the amount of cameras, sensors and other information capture and processing devices in real time like never before.

One of the cases where significant changes may be seen is, especially, that of the live shows, particularly musical and sports. The technical capabilities of 5G will allow us to offer immersive and interactive extended reality experiences, both for live participants and also for remote audiences. The way people will interact with these types of events may change significantly, especially due to the new capabilities of user devices, but also due to the capacity of 5G networks. simultaneously and massively connect a huge amount of equipment with speeds never seen before. Several TV stations and media companies are using, or considering adopting, private networks to support live event coverage^[1].

From the production point of view, both of this type of events and other content formats, 5G will bring the possibility of multiply exponentially the amount of cameras, sensors and other information capture and processing devices in real time like never before. Not only will we be able to have cameras on aerial drones; We could also have them on the clothing of a professional athlete, whether on a basketball hoop or soccer goal. we could have sensors mapping a golf course or a racing circuit, telling us live how fast a golf ball travels or how hard a rugby player is hit, for example. 5G promises to stream video from anywhere, with Ubiquitous coverage and reliability, at speeds equivalent to those given by the cables.

As always, they will be users who determine which ones meet expectations and provide a actual perceived usefulness, or have the latent potential to become solutions that will transform the industry.

It is important to note that 5G will give the possibility of having a exclusive private network for a recording venue or live event facilities, as well as edge computing allows data that previously had to travel to a data center to be processed at the time and place, and that can be connected concurrently a previously unthinkable number of devices.

In short, private 5G networks provide enormous potential for the entertainment industry, especially thanks to the incorporation of the band enhanced mobile broadband and the edge processing, key factors to provide immersive experiences thanks to extended reality, a concept that involves definitions such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.

However, we must always keep in mind that the path of technology adoption is not linear. The technological capabilities are given for a wide set of applications. As the different components of the ecosystem develop and evolve, it will be the spark of creativity the one that finds the applications that simplify tasks, introduce improvements in quality and results, save costs or allow the creation of new products. And as always, they will be users who determine which ones meet expectations and provide a actual perceived usefulness, or have the latent potential to become solutions that will transform the industry.

[1] 5G Use Cases [white paper], 5G Americas, November 2023, page 20. Available in https://www.5gamericas.org/5g-use-cases/

Jose Otero

Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean of 5G Americas